I will shortly be leaving WordPress where the blog has been hosted since it started in May 2011 and instead it will appear on the official Rangers.co.uk website.

I cannot, obviously, go into all of the details yet of the deal but I can offer some background to such momentous news.

I want to make it clear that the change to a place on the website of the most successful sporting team in the world, with its illustrious history now in its 141st year, will in no way affect the independent nature of my writing.

Even though all my copy has to be approved by the Director of Communications, a towering figure in the Scottish newspaper industry over the last 30 years, and a veritable Gulliver amongst Lilliputians, there will be no change to my often sceptical stance on the actions of the reigning Scottish League 3 Champions.

In addition, whilst I understand that the Chief Executive of the club will cast his eye, pre-publication, over all of my posts, I am delighted that a businessman with such a fine track record all over the world, and in many different areas of business, will be giving me too the benefits of his undoubted wisdom.

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of sitting in the famous “Blue Room” with the respective legends of media and business mentioned above.

Between the two of them, one clearly showing his Airdieonian roots, and his background in the “inky trades”, and the other the personification of the blunt Yorkshireman, it was made clear that it was my independence they valued.

The new base for the blog!

For example, they have no objection to me writing about gratuitous alienations, and how that issue cannot apply to the team.

There is no objection to me pointing out that, for all of the scepticism expressed elsewhere, the purchase of all of the assets for £5.5 million was more than adequate consideration for what was obtained.

Indeed, there is no objection to me making clear to what extent the manager has been restricted by rules which have, in a petty and vindictive way, been applied to the club by the SFL, the venom of the attacks being disguised by the rules being applied to the other 29 SFL clubs too.

When I asked why other bloggers, more known for their pro-Rangers leanings, had not been called upon for this significant and novel role, I was assured that it was my perceived anti-Rangers stance which had been the key. After all, why take on board someone who would be a supporter of the club when they will continue to do so outside the Ibrox command centre.

I have been told that I will be officially welcomed as a member of the Rangers Family on the pitch at half time during the Rangers v Clyde match on 13th April. I am looking forward immensely to standing on the centre spot, seeing the UEFA 5 star stadium resplendent in blue, with a full house of fans singing my name.

From then the hard work will start.

It was made clear that I would be free to write on whatever topics I wanted, but if I could cast my eye over the following it might be appreciated:-

Why it is illegal to force Rangers to play in Scotland

How Rangers can be placed into the English Championship by purchasing a suitable “feeder club”

How Rangers, despite being only an Associate Member, can veto any changes for Scottish football reconstruction

How can Rangers get compensation from HMRC and from the media for all of the damage done by the vindictive pursuit of the EBT case and the misinformed reporting of it

How much money can Rangers get as damages and compensation for being abandoned by mercenary players who turned their backs on the greatest football team in the world

How the manager’s performance in leading his team to victory in the Scottish League compares favourably with such historical examples of leadership as Stein winning the European Cup, Churchill leading Britain to victory in World War 2, Wellington rallying his troops at Waterloo, or Hannibal taking his elephants over the Alps.

Some might question why I, as an Albion Rovers supporter, would want to be an active part of the richest football team in Scotland. As the Rovers are heading back to SFL3 and Rangers taking their place in SFL2, then moving my allegiance to a rising team seems only right.

All that is left for me to do is to send back the signed contact to the CEO’s PA.

So, the exotically named, Miss April Fullstay, should expect an email from me later today confirming my decision.

Congratulations Cliff …sorry Paul. A long and brilliant career awaits you. You will now be world famous as all those 500 million fans will be waiting with baited breath for your next word (in type).
Oh by the way my sincerity is matched by my stupidity and inability to comprehend the date today….a good laugh cheers

Are you taking your historical musings with you. How much did you pay for them? I will be adding my name to the creditors list in an attempt to recover my unpaid replies, laundered by methods of moderation.
I have instructed my lawyers to pursue this claim with the utmost vigour, and that they, under no circumstances, are they to accept a “letter in the word” repayment plan. These replies were delivered in good faith, and you have 7 days within receipt of this reply to settle.
I would like to draw attention to the fact, that though they may currently be in your possession, I retain my rights of “floating charge” over these letters. For the avoidance of doubt, the letters held under floating charge, giving me additional claim over are as follows :-
CVA
WTC
BTC
LNS
LHI
GA.
GIRUY
PMSL (nae luck Carson! I baggsed them first)

I, along with other supporters have amassed a fighting fund to prevent this change taking place. Through bucket collections and raffles, we have collected half an alphabet. Unfortunately we do not have a “T” , a “U” or a “P&E” yet! We do have 14 “Q”s and 17 “Z”s. Which we hope to swop.
Monti has promised to donate the graffiti on the wall!

The link below reveals Charles Green’s plan to circumvent the Football Conference’s own rules on membership:

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2.2 All Clubs shall have Grounds and headquarters situated in England or Wales and the General Manager shall send their names and particulars to The FA annually by the date appointed by, and in the format required by, The FA. English Clubs shall be duly affiliated at all times to a recognised County Football Association. Welsh Clubs shall be affiliated to The FA of Wales.
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why would anyone connected with rangers past present or future, not want to add div 3 champs to their illustrious list? apparently fans voted 55% for and 42% against while the official rangers site says it will not be added. div 3 title not worthy enough? ( nor div 2 or 1 ? only spl? )

I had forgotten what the date was and was reading this with dismay. Was about to call you unsavoury names then the penny dropped. The inky trade part was straight out of that zoomer Leggo. Nearly caught Paul. Well done

What memories , Miss April Fullsday was the best secy I ever had in my office,what a performer on the desk top.

April wasnt her real name as i found out early on, at her first day at work infact….. I emember the conversation well…. do u take dicktation I asked…. yes she replied but how do u know that my first name is actually Tation.

I did hear she had moved into the ‘hacks game’ Jumbo Jabba must have lured her with him to the Sevcodome , I would guess.

She moved swiftly through the ranks with us I recall. The CEO (a chas green like figure) by the name of Dick Head nobbled her when he set up a ‘newco’ subsidiary in lap tops. April was so good she could work everyones lap tops within the first month. Dick quickly built up the ‘newco’ to 55 and counting employees and April used everyones laptopsat conferences.

A trained physiotherapist too, April,will have ‘fixed’ many of Jabba’s groiny’s’ and be ideally suited to double up and fill the vacancy in the Murray Park Physio Department thereby saving ‘chuckles’ a hefty salary.

Going back to my own company days I retired to a self build erection in the Mendips which I named in Tations honour. April Rise.

Charles Green has just announced radical new development plans for IbrokesThe most exciting of which is his revolutionary plans for a broadband connection to be installed in the “dookit” on the adjacent “sperr grun”,

Paul why are you jumping over to the Green side we thought you were all whyte were you are. Typical isn’t it as soon as a title is secured everyone wants to get on board. Well just go you April fool of a man, and take cam with you.Happy holiday Mo Chara.

Scottish Football League chief David Longmuir admits the Scottish Premier League’s proposed league structure of 12-12-18 may well transpire.

“It looks like the only way we can take it forward,” said Longmuir.

SFL chief executive Longmuir says the SPL’s preferred format featuring 12 sides in the top two divisions is now winning support.

“There is no perfect solution. We have an incongruent number and therefore it can’t just be nice and symmetrical.”

“Scottish football needs to look after 42 professional clubs,” he told BBC Radio Scotland.
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On January 29 2013; it was widely reported;
RANGERS fans today urged SFL clubs to reject plans for a 12-12-18 league set-up that would keep the Ibrox club in the bottom division next season.
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31 January 2013; it was then widely reported; Scottish Football League chief executive David Longmuir has confirmed that he comes from a family of Rangers fans.

“I can understand Rangers fans being unhappy with the prospect that Rangers could win SFL 3 and not be promoted,” he told Rangers tv.

“I am surrounded by Rangers fans at home so I know their feelings. I know where they are coming from but if we can put something sensible together then hopefully that issue will not arise.”

Longmuir added: “There is no done deal with the SPL and one of the things that Rangers fans will be interested to know is that I have never agreed to anything with the SPL or the SFA regarding league reconstruction.
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On 31 March 2013; the BBC reported the following;

Falkirk and Hamilton are frustrated because 14 SFL clubs have indicated that the proposals should be delayed for 12 months despite previously widespread support for a merged league and extended play-offs to be implemented in time for next season.

The Bairns also say Scottish Football League chief executive David Longmuir “presented a very negative view” of the 12-12-18 divisional plan at the most recent gathering to discuss the issue.

“David Longmuir presented a very negative view of the SPL proposals, clearly distancing himself from ownership of the proposals.”

“As a result, the SFL clubs were split down the middle with a 14 to 14 indicative vote. Those who were against the proposals did favour continuing the process with a view to implementing the changes in a year’s time.”
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There can be no doubt that Mr. Longmuir has performed a u-turn in respect to his initial support of the 12 12 18 format. Mr. Longmuir’s concerns for his SFL clubs became rather more focused to that of one club. i.e.
From; “Scottish football needs to look after 42 professional clubs”; To; “There is no done deal with the SPL and one of the things that Rangers fans will be interested to know is that I have never agreed to anything with the SPL or the SFA regarding league reconstruction.

So what is David Longmuir playing at?

Of the 42 clubs in Scotland; each and every supporter will be interested to know what Mr. Longmuir’s plan is regarding league reconstruction.

Longmuir is quoted; “One league body served us well for 100 years until 1998 [the formation of the SPL],” he explained.

“We can make decisions better, have more marketing clout and do more for the game under one roof.”

“We can make sure we have a pathway for youngsters to come through the game. There are a lot of positives about one league body and I’m sure the fans would agree with that.”

“If you go back to my original proposal I was a key proponent of a larger top league but I do understand that this would mean fewer games and take finance out of the game.”
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Longmuir’s concern of fewer games is veiled reference to there no longer being four games against the ‘old firm’.

No matter the number of clubs per division; if necessary to create further finance; extra meetings can be manufactured through cup competition (home & away ties in League cup being one consideration).

I’m all for the immediate expansion of the top tier whether it’s under the heading of the SPL or SFL (or a merger of the two).

Who at Hampden is willing to look after the immediate concerns of all 42 clubs; rather than that of only TRFC?

If that no action is taken in time for next season; an emergency meeting of all clubs should call for a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the in the SFA as the ultimate body in charge of Scottish football.

It is obvious to all concerned that the existing bodies have absolutely no control over the welfare of the sport. In keeping with the time of year; it is now time for a Spring clean out at Hampden; and that’s no joke.

I think it is fairly obvious his agenda Ray,
If you look at self confessed family of bluenoses Longmuir,s U-turn, in conjunction with Chicco’ attempted ticket bribe, then it becomes obvious that another season in the bottom tier, will be a big kick in the Haw Maws for Sevco. Add in a couple of sleekit words between the two, and Hey Presto! Instantly up to 2nd bottom tier.
Longmuir waiving the 3yr audited accounts was not in vain.

is it 54 or 55, would appear the news scarves confirm 55 been accepted LOL. sevco will be selling 3rd division champion diddy team scarves to raise much needed money.I think this win by sevco is gonna make great entertainment for the bhoys. Sevco will be maybe if all things been equal the first team to attempt to win all 4 divisions. Oh the envy can we just swap one of our titles so we can be the first to do the 4, April fool to all the muppets who call us obsessed, can you not see the irony scots have always been obsessed by humor….HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

If you want someone to say something about Catholic schools I’ll oblige. They are one of the greatest causes of division in our society and teach children nonsense based on the random 2000 year old philosophy of the son of a carpenter who might not have existed. Will that do?

What is your evidence that Catholic schools are “one of the greatest causes of division in society”? Catholic schools have an excellent academic record of achievement, so much so that parents of other faiths or no faiths regularly send their kids to Catholic schools. If you have data in your possession to substantiate your claim that Catholic schools are harming school children who, in turn, are causing mayhem in society, then you have a duty to inform the authorities. Personally, I would be genuinely interested in your academic sources (if you do not have the links then, if possible, send the research reports to Paul and he can forward them on to me).

However, it is not Catholic Schools per se that you seem to be attacking but, or at least for the main part, Catholicism itself. Your mocking of Catholicism (“nonsense based on the random 200 year old philosophy”) lets the cat out the bag. You are entitled not to believe in Catholicism, or any other religion, but please refrain from showing disrespect to those who do hold religious beliefs.

The logic of your position is that Catholics are a disruptive influence in society. So, for you, what school someone went to really is important.

I hold the view that if Catholic parents want them, then that is their perfectly correct choice.
However, their record of academic achievement is overstated.
Overall, they perform less well than the so-called ” non-demoninational”
schools, only 3 Catholic schools are in the top 50 in Scotland, excluding public schools.

I bet you have 3 teeth in your head, all nicotine stained & you drink buckfast on a night out (post giro), you’ll own a pit bull called hammer,sash or Billy,you will sit on front of your b/w telly & urinate yourself of an evening…..geeez a faggg Billy!!!

I haven’t the slightest interest in expanding on my thesis as you put it. But, look at what Johnboy says and see if I said any of that and then look at Monti’s contribution. I have a view that all religion is nonsense and I have no real wish to single out catholicism, but Monti asked. I might also add that children play very happily together when they are pre-school, but somehow many of them do not play so happily together after they start school. Religious sectarianism has to come from somewhere and where better than schools. And I quite like the point made by Johnboy about having data to substantiate that catholic schools are harming children. First I never said that and second is that a discussion you really want to get in to. I am happy to leave the west mired in its own religious nightmare, the two sides deserve eachother and it is all in the name of religion. You couldn’t make this up.

@ Violet, Have you ever considered that it was maybe just you the other kids didn’t want to play with? I do not have any religious beliefs, but I certainly have plenty of friends, regardless of the school attended. As I remember, that was the same for all of us growing up. That applied then as it does now! To blame any sectarianism or bigotry on schools, leads me to doubt you ever attended one. You are 100% wrong if you believe any form of hatred is taught or encouraged in schools. You treat your atheism as your faith, but like the bigotry you condemn, you try to ram your atheism down the throats of people who are not. Do you not see the hypocrisy of that. It is not your responsibility to “convert” or persuade the beliefs of others. I fully understand that you do not believe, but the intolerance and lack of understanding of those who choose to, is the same lack of understanding and intolerance that leads to….religious bigotry! I have now given you the reason for the divisions you point to. It is not the schools, (who educate tolerance) but human and societies failings which are the cause. I don’t give a flying F*** how people gain the above qualities. But in my experience, it is true believers in whatever their faith, who have them in abundance. The fact that extremism or bigotry attaches itself to a faith, is not the fault of the faith. It is due to the human element within it. You cannot deny you are part of the human race, and believer or not, the same qualities are required.

For Catholic schools to be one of the greatest causes of division in society then they must be imparting the seeds of that disharmony to those that they teach. If they were not harming the education of those in their charge then there would be no fault attached to Catholic schools for any of the unknown fissures to which you refer.

You have provided zero evidence that Catholic schools create division in society. You claim that “you couldn’t make this up”. You just did.

@david

The academic achievements of Catholic schools (state and private) are not overstated. Relative to the number of non-Catholic schools in Scotland, the consistent high standard of pass rates in Catholic schools is commendable. For example two state Catholic schools are in the top 10 academic achievers in Scotland for 2012 for the % of S5 pupils getting 5 or more Highers – St Ninian’s High School (2nd) and St Thomas Aquinas (9th).

So that makes 8 non-demoninational schools in the top 10 then?
And 47 in the top 50 ?
I am not saying that Catholic schools are bad, merely that overall they slightly underperform compared to their non-dom counterparts, although they have improved immensely- a good thing. If parents want them, they should continue.
However, they do discriminate from the public purse against non-RC teachers which if the opposite was the case would result in howls of outrage, and rightly so.
This ” ethos ” thing I find hard to understand : I dont think people of any religion or none are fundamentally different.
Scotlands schools have produced many exceptionally talented people in the past and hopefully they will in the future whatever school they go to.
Rather than arguing about petty differences we should be taking control of our country and returning it to its former glory for all our kids and harnessing their talent.

JohnBhoy
Violet’s assertion that sectarian behaviour originates in Catholic schools betrays an appalling ignorance of the history of institutional anti-Catholicism in Britain and Ireland beginning in the early 1600s and reaching its virulent worst in the first quarter of the eighteenth century with the passing of the Penal Laws.

England may have progressed beyond this disgraceful stain on its history, but the dominant Unionist/Protestant ascendancy in Ireland and later Northern Ireland fought tooth and nail against even the smallest steps to alleviate the conditions in which Catholics lived.

Sectarianism in Ireland which has been exported to Scotland comes from a Protestant mindset that produced over four hundred years of persecution of Irish Catholics. A mindset that still exists in a sizable minority that would like to turn back the clock.

In the long run I think it is a smart move Paul, hitching your star to this bastion of truth, integrity and fair play. You will gain nothing, but respect from both sides of the divide and I can only hope this move heralds a new era of respect and tolerance in Scottish football.
I hear the new TRFC change strip is to be green, in deference to their business maestro, with white hoops, should look snazzy.

Teacher asks a child to spell Rangers, the boy replies there is no Rangers, just spell it the teacher says. The boy spells out Rangefrs. teacher stops him and says there is no f in rangers the boy replies that is what i f*****g said at the start.Happy Easter to all on board.

League reconstruction must go ahead in time for the start of next season, this would keep the squatters of the asbestos dome in the bottom tier, they do not want that, to me this is what must be done then! 1 European cup & counting,god bless the pope & all Catholic schools! Graffiti on the wall…

By Longmuirs admission that he comes from a household of rangers (sic) supporters should, in my eyes, bar him from holding office in one of the higher positions in our game. I may be naive but that would suggest to me he would find it almost impossible to be impartial. This is what has been the problem in Scottish football for years. Freemasonry is riddled within every nook and cranny of our society and the SFA is no different. Ban anyone who is a Freemason, knight of st Columba or any other secret society from holding office. If a contract is signed stating they are not members of a secret organisation then dismissal would be the order of the day if disclosed. Transparency and fairness should be the order of the day and if everyone was transparent, it would be a more level playing field for everyone

HAMILTON chairman Les Gray is the man leading the revolt of First Division clubs to join an SPL2.

Mr. Gray’s club currently sit 3rd bottom of the 1st Division.

SFL chief David Longmuir has called for reconstruction to be delayed by a year after the latest lower-league meeting ended without a vote due to lack of support in the room.

In response, the First Division chairmen held their own meeting with the top flight and may now endorse a plan for a ‘cherry-picked’ second tier, which could involve Rangers.

The SFL would then be left with 18 member clubs.

Setting aside the existing bottom tier SFL clubs; the most likely clubs to lose out from any ‘cherry picking’ of TRFC would be:

Cowdenbeath Chairman: Donald Findlay

Airdrie Utd Chairman: Jim Ballantyne

Brechin Chairman: Ken Ferguson

Arbroath Chairman: John Christison

Forfar Chairman: Neill Wilson

Ayr Chairman: Lachlan Cameron

Stenhousemuir Chairman: Bill Darroch

Stranraer Chairman: Alex Connor

Unless David Longmuir has a secret plan to form a coup of all 42 clubs under the umbrella of the SFL; he will be left in control of just 18 clubs in the event that the current membership of 30 SFL clubs scupper the proposed two lower tiers of 12 and 18.

I would imagine that it is safe to say that any formation of an SPL 2 would reduce Scottish football to no more than a pantomime; Campbell Ogilvie is already perfect for the role of Buttons (although I wouldn’t trust him to organise a game of tiddlywinks).